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440Hz Base Pitch getting variable

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dwatson3

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440Hz Base Pitch getting variable

PostTue Sep 13, 2016 2:33 pm

System Issues showing up after several months of flawless usage (following Windows 10 upgrade)....

1. How is the 440Hz base pitch created in Hauptwerk? I'm having issues with variations in actual pitch even though the panel read-out indicates 440Hz. In a service last Sunday, the system jumped a full semi-tone in the middle of a line of music causing a strange look on the organist's face. No midi events other than key up / key down appear to have occurred.
2. Hauptwerk is taking much longer to load of late even though a new initialisation shouldn't be triggered. What does the Hauptwerk software check at each start-up to determine how to load an instrument?

So .... Can these be related? / Is this a possible voltage issue with the power supply to the system board? (BIOS or CMOS)?
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mdyde

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Re: 440Hz Base Pitch getting variable

PostWed Sep 14, 2016 4:37 am

Hello Dave,

dwatson3 wrote:1. How is the 440Hz base pitch created in Hauptwerk? I'm having issues with variations in actual pitch even though the panel read-out indicates 440Hz. In a service last Sunday, the system jumped a full semi-tone in the middle of a line of music causing a strange look on the organist's face. No midi events other than key up / key down appear to have occurred.


Please check:

- that the transposer (labelled 'Key transpose') isn't turned on (non-zero) on Hauptwerk's 'Pitch' large control panel ('View | Large controls panels ...').

- that the 'Fine-tune cents' setting is still set to zero on that same screen.

- that equal temperament is selected on that screen (temporarily, and just as a test, in case perhaps you have some unconventional temperament loaded that sets the pitches radically differently).

- that the 'Allow MIDI Master Fine Tuning sys-ex messages to tune Hauptwerk' option on the 'General settings | General preferences | Advanced preferences' screen tab is turned off (temporarily, and also as a test, in case some external temperature-sensing hardware or similar is sending messages to Hauptwerk to change its pitch).

- that the sample rate on your computer's audio interface hasn't been changed by some software other than Hauptwerk to a value other than the one Hauptwerk set it to (which should be 48 kHz for most sample sets, but 44.1 kHz for St. Anne's). In particular, make sure that no other software is running on the computer at the same time as Hauptwerk that is set to use the audio interface for audio output, and that the audio interface isn't selected as the default audio/playback device in Windows' control panel (otherwise Windows may try to play sounds through the audio interface whilst Hauptwerk is running, potentially causing the interface to change to the wrong sample rate for Hauptwerk).

dwatson3 wrote:2. Hauptwerk is taking much longer to load of late even though a new initialisation shouldn't be triggered. What does the Hauptwerk software check at each start-up to determine how to load an instrument?


Please first make sure that your PC's clock is set correctly:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14045&p=104190#p104190

mdyde wrote:Whenever you change the general audio routing settings (adding or removing audio outputs, groups, or channels), Hauptwerk stores the timestamp that you made the change. When you subsequently load an organ, it compares that timestamp against the timestamp at which that the organ's cache was generated. If the cache timestamp is older than the settings timestamp then Hauptwerk will think that the routing settings have changed since the cache was generated, and so will believe that it needs to regenerate the cache (since routing changes affect the format needed for the cache).


If the caches are regenerating repeatedly then that almost certainly indicates that the PC's clock is/was wrong, which is usually the result of a failing motherboard battery.
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
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dwatson3

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Re: 440Hz Base Pitch getting variable

PostThu Sep 15, 2016 10:23 am

Martin, you're an amazing troubleshooter!

I checked all elements that you indicated and did find a setting inappropriately changed that is a likely cause of the frequency issue. (How it was ever changed is a mystery as I'd never been in that menu before...) Regardless, when I left the church last night, the 440 Hz on the organ was identical to both the piano and my iPad.

Even though the computer clock indicated correct time ( CMOS battery was operational ), I changed it regardless as it was more than 4 years old. The subsequent load of the Salisbury organ was back to its normal load time.

So .... Thanks so much ... The couple being married this week will never know how much you added to their day.
Regards,
Dave
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mdyde

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Re: 440Hz Base Pitch getting variable

PostFri Sep 16, 2016 4:14 am

Thanks, Dave.

Hope it all stays working well now. May the wedding be a success!
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.

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